"What Child is This?" - The answer is in this favorite Christmas song

In his beautiful Christmas carol, William Chatterton Dix asks a question people down through the centuries have asked, "what child is this?"

Even today people wonder about this baby who was born inmanger in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago. Dix provides some answers in this well-loved Christmas song.

The setting

Dix wrote the lyrics for the song in 1865 during a time when Christmas was not a large, commercial,materialistic celebration. Somereligious people remembered the day and celebrated it in a quietsolemn  way. Others didn't celebrate the day at all.

The hymn's meaning

Dix was moved to write about witnesses at the manger scene who knew that was no ordinary birth yet didn't really fully understand its significance. The writer described a infant who sleeps on his mother's lap, is guarded byshepherds, greeted by angles with sweet songs andworshiped by kings.

Dix then answers his initial question by declaring that the baby is "Christ the King", who bringssalvation to all people. He concluded that for this reason, we should sing about Christ, worship him and filled with joy!

Jesus indeed gives us cause for celebration on this, His birthday, Christmas day!

在这首优美的圣诞颂歌中，威廉·查特顿·迪克斯提出了数百年来人们不断询问的问题，“这位美妙的婴儿是谁？”

甚至直到今日，人们仍对两千多年前降生在伯利恒马槽中的婴儿感到好奇。迪克斯在这首大家喜爱的圣诞颂歌中做了解答。

背景

迪克斯在1865年为这首歌创作了歌词，那时过圣诞节还不是大型商业化而崇尚物质的庆祝活动。有些虔诚的人们是以安静、肃穆的方式来纪念和庆祝这一天，其他人则根本不过这个节。

圣歌的意义

迪克斯心中有了感动，而写下歌词，诉说亲眼见证马槽降生这一幕的人，他们虽然知道这是非比寻常的降生，但却不完全了解当中的重要意义。迪克斯秒速了一名婴儿睡在母亲的推上，有牧羊人守护，有天使唱着悦耳的歌曲迎接，并有国王敬拜。

迪克斯接着回答了开头的问题，称那名婴儿是“基督”，为人类带来救赎。因此，他在歌曲结尾告诉我们，我们应该为基督歌颂，敬拜他，而且充满喜乐。

耶稣的确给了我们理由庆祝他的生日：圣诞节！

学习笔记：

1. carol n. （圣诞）颂歌；赞美诗

2. down through 在整个……的时间里

3. manger n. 马槽

4. the setting 背景

5. lyric n. 歌词

6. materialistic adj. 崇尚物质的，唯物主义

7. religious adj. 虔诚的

8. solemn adj. 肃穆的；庄重的

9. witnesses n. 目击人

10. shepherd n. 牧羊人

11. worship v. 崇拜；敬拜

12. salvation n. 救赎；拯救 

（英文原文以及翻译来源于《空中英语教室》，图片来源于网络。）